Friday, September 22, 2006

Okay...does the flashy title New and Improved bother anyone else? I got to looking at a bottle of mouse the other day, and had to shake my head. If it was new in the first place, how could it be improved already??? And if it wasn't new and just improved, why not just say newly improved or like I've seen...new improved formula type thing. But new AND improved? That's just scary. Makes you wonder what is going on in people's minds. Of course we buy it anyway...

Monday, September 11, 2006

Well...on this 5th anniversary of 9/11, I am going to send forth my voice into the void to join the many thousands other who are voicing their opinions. Not just on this day, but every day. I feel that even though it's likely my voice will not be heard above the rabble and the craziness, I still need to exercise the privilege of this country and express myself.

I have to say these things, because I would be doing my father a disservice by remaining quiet. I wrote a short story for a contest a couple of months ago, and I am putting the link here so that if anyone would like to read it, they can access it. I wrote this story of fiction, using memories of my family as background.http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1101204

My father was a Ranger in WWII. He survived D-day to become a hero in my eyes. My grandfather was in WWI in the Navy. He was some sort of rank, but other than a photo of him in uniform with lots of medals on his chest, I don't know what it was. I currently have two nephews serving in the armed forces, one of which has been to Afghanistan and been in the 'hot zone'.

What I am trying to say, is that I come from a military background. I probably have a different perspective than others on war and the military. I do not seek war, I wish and pray for peace. But, I realize that our freedom came at a cost, and it's a cost that is needing to be continually paid. Whatever be the current rumors and misleading newscasts...despite what might end up being the true story behind 9/11--the top thing we must always remember is how our firefighters and police and emergency personnel responded in an emergency within our nation. How they shored up our faith and showed courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

There was an article in the paper on Saturday that talked about a group call the Truth Commission (or something to that effect) and how they have uncovered a plot (or conspiracy theory) by the government to cause the greater tragedy on 9/11 by bombing the lower portion of the towers so that they would fall. There was no reason (in this article, proclaimed by this group) for the towers to fall in such a way. They should have toppled over, not collapsed in on themselves.

I am not an engineer. I do not know anything about buildings. However-I have seen several demolitions of buildings and watched how they came down. I have seen the films of 9/11 several times, including last night's special on channel 2 (NBC?) and I have come to the conclusion in my inexpertness, that they could not have been bombed in such a way...but that's a side issue.

What I wanted to proclaim in my small blog on this memorial day, is that we are doing the right thing. That we should never forget this day or December 7th because these were days that mark tragedy in our country. These were days that brave men and women died to save others--in an attack by foreign countries on our soil. These were courageous people who died trying to save innocent ones and we should never forget. The flag should always be flown, not just on today. Our great nation might be struggling at this point to find itself amid the chaos of politics, but the people are still great. We still have a fight to fight. We must still keep our freedoms. We have to strike out against those that would destroy those freedoms and the innocents in our country. There could still be a strike on our country at any time, despite the security measures which have given us a measure of safety.

Yes, I can understand where people are confused, but perhaps I never knew the whole facts. I had no idea that they were going after Saddam himself, it was Osama from the beginning. And despite what the news tells you, there is much that has happened that most will never know because it's not being let out. They will never broadcast that WMD have been found in Iraq, despite being old and perhaps no longer useful, they are still there. They were found. And despite the fact that everyone thinks we are only there because of the oil--we have been able to free a people that haven't known freedom in generations. My nephew has told us of how thankful people are that we are there! Is that something you've heard on the news? Of course not! That would say that we are doing something good. All we hear about is the soldiers that die.

I happen to live in a state that is rather conservative. Our capitol city, however, has a mayor that has decided to make a name for himself, despite the damage it does to our state, and has spoken out against the President. He has suggested that he needs to be impeached--that this war against terror is a crime.

The crime is what is being fed to the nation by the media. The crime is that those who enjoy our nation of free speech would try and silence those who speak out against them.

These are the times that try the hearts of men. That is an old quote and I'm sorry I don't know who said it, but it's as true now as it was then. We were united as a nation after 9/11. We were strong. We knew what needed to be done. But time fades the sharpness of the pain, the fear that we lived with, the empty skies for almost a week afterward. We are human, and as such, tend to forget things, or lessen them with time.

THAT CANNOT HAPPEN!! WE must never forget!

Now suddenly our patriotism is slack...there aren't as many flags flying as there were that fall, are there? Do you have a flag in the front of your house? On your car? Are your children proud to be called an American? More importantly are you???

You live in a nation where you can do pretty much anything you want to do for a living. You can travel anywhere within it's confines without worrying about being searched or asked questions (unless you choose to fly, and there is no problem on my part with that). You have the right to question the leaders and ask them to account for what they do. You have the right to criticize those around you. You have so many rights and privileges that many people only dream about. Remember what they say about our nation (or used to) -- The land of dreams???

Well...for many, it still is. We still have sooo much, while others do not, and they are always going to be jealous of those things. We are always going to have to defend our rights. There are times when the politics gets in the way of what is right, and what needs to be done. The majority of our nation is good. The greater part of our leaders (I think) are good. I think President Bush has done an amazing job in the face of all the negative publicity and name bashing. Think of what the press has done to this man and our nation. What other country in the world would allow such slander??? (Okay...slander is if it's in print?)

I do not align myself with any particular political party. I was raised to be an independent thinker. Right now, both the major political parties are mixed up and messed up. They do NOT think of what's good for the people, only what's good for the party...what is good politics. My husband made a suggestion the other day, that we should dump both parties and start over. Everyone is so power hungry, they forget what is important.WE THE PEOPLE.

I've already gotten far more carried away than I meant to. But this is an important issue--one which I think every American needs to take note of. WE Can NEVER Forget!!! Once we start forgetting, we do not place the value on things that need to be. We don't give freedom such a rating as it should have.

I hope everyone takes a moment to honor those who have gone before us, either in war or tragedy and silently give thanks for their sacrifice. That we can be where we are, doing what we are doing with the freedoms that we have.